Park Slope's Own Morgan Spurlock Teaches Us A Thing Or Two About Failure

Photo by Linus Hallesnius

Morgan Spurlock is the first person to make failure feel alluring. For me, at least. 

The documentary filmmaker (and Park Slope dad) responsible for the Academy Award-nominated Super Size Me, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Hulu's A Day in the Life, and a bunch of other amazing projects that I'm totally obsessed with, is in the midst of a 365-day endeavor called Failure Club, which airs on Yahoo Screen and follows the lives of 7 New Yorkers who are all chasing dreams that they'd previously been too afraid to pursue. 

"My father used to say to me growing up," Spurlock said in an early episode, "There's two kinds of people in this world. There's people who do what they say they're going to do, and everybody else."

DAY-UM, you guys. Did an invisible tail just droop between your legs because you fall into the latter category? If so, now's as good a time as any to get off your ass and DO THAT THING YOU'VE BEEN TOO SCARED TO DO, because none of us are gettin' any younger. If I've learned anything from watching this show, it's that once we get past the fear of failure, our outlook on the world changes. As Morgan puts it, "The worst thing anyone is ever going to tell you is 'No'." 

Failure Club documents the successes, failures and overall growth of each participant who has a specific goal in mind. There's Elizabeth, who wants to write a world famous Christmas song that becomes a top ten hit on iTunes. There's Eric, who knows ziltch about motorcycles, yet plans to build one from scratch and take it on a ride with friends of his father, who recently passed away.

And then there's Meg.

Meg is a Project Manager who dreams of performing a 20-minute stand-up comedy set in front of 200 people. Her biggest obstacle? She has ZERO material and crippling stage fright. Meg is by far my favorite person on this show. She may have bombed at her first open mic (who wouldn't?), but since then I've watched her confidence grow and her jokes gain momentum (Meg, if you're reading this: YOU FUCKING ROCK, GIRL).

In short: I am hooked on this show.

I recently stopped by Morgan’s Soho office to chat about Failure Club, his thoughts on the reputation of a Park Slope parent, and how he'd turn our neighborhood into the subject of a documentary.

How did the Failure Club project come about?

The whole idea for Failure Club came from a trip that my girlfriend and I took to a Bed and Breakfast. I hate Bed and Breakfasts. I hate this whole idea of forced interaction, of being forced to communicate or talk to someone. It’s like camp. So it was 9:30 in the morning, and my girlfriend said, “We’ve got to go downstairs to get breakfast.” And I’m like, “I’m not going downstairs. If we do, someone’s going to [see me and] say, ‘Oh, you’re that guy! By the way, I’ve got a great idea for you'!” And my girlfriend says, “That is not going to happen. We’re in the middle of nowhere. Nobody’s going to say that."

So we go downstairs and sit down for breakfast. There’s only a guy and his girlfriend sitting across from us. Everyone else had already eaten. And the guy’s staring at me, and he goes, "You did Super Size Me!" And I say, “Yeah I did.” And he says, “I like your stuff a lot. I was thinking I should reach out to you because my friends and I did this thing that I thought you would really like. I really want to tell you this idea.”

You were right!

And I said to him, “Sure, go ahead.” And he proceeds to tell me probably the greatest idea I’ve ever heard in my life.

He tells me about how him and his friends were sitting around one Christmas, and they were each pretty successful, all in their early 30’s. No one was destitute, but at the same time there was something that they each felt a little unfulfilled by. And so they each started asking, "If you could go do any one thing tomorrow, and it didn’t matter if you succeeded or failed, what would it be?” They each started going around the room, talking about what that one thing would be. Things like,  “I’d finally tell my boss to fuck off and I’d start my own company.” Or "I want to run a marathon," or "I want to write a book.” And he says, “You know what? Let’s do it. This next year, let’s all support each other by doing these things. Let’s create the Failure Club, and go after these things we’ve always wanted to but have been too afraid to try."

And over the next year, there was monumental success, monumental failure, but at the same time, these people were changed forever, just because they got rid of that fear barrier. And after he told me this idea I said, "This is fantastic! How is this not on television!” I was like, “I will help get this on television. We’re going to make this show.”

A typical Failure Club meeting.

While you were auditioning people for the show, what were you looking for in a candidate?

Well, we didn't want it to be about wish fulfillment. You don’t want somebody coming in saying, “All I need you to do is ‘blankety blank blank blank’." We wanted to find people that not only had an idea, but some semblance of how they would get there  It’s also not a talent show. It's not about tapping into your inner Judy Garland. That’s why I love Eric’s goal. Here’s this guy who’s grieving, still, and to get through the grieving process, he’s going to build this motorcycle in honor of his dad. That’s an amazing story.  It was about finding interesting people with compelling goals and stories.

We also needed to have access. When we first started auditioning, there were people that we interviewed who said, “You can never show my family.” And we said, “Well, then we can’t really do this." Part of what this is about is how it affects you and your personal life. Because when you do start chasing these pie-in-the-sky dreams, there are ripple effects. 

Do you or your team ever provide resources or advice to the subjects?

Nothing, with the exception of what you see in the room at the Failure Club meetings. The Failure Club can’t call me.  I encourage them to call each other. They don’t call our producers saying, “I really need to do this. Can you help me?” But in the meetings, when we’re in the room, we give advice. We all call each other out on things we don’t think make sense, we question the decisions people make, and it becomes tough love.

So they’re each out there finding their own resources. That’s great.

I mean, that’s life. You’ve got to figure it out on your own. [Creator of Failure Club] Philip [Kiracofe] and I aren’t opening up our Rolodexes and saying, “You should call this person.”  But what Failure Club does do is it provides you with seven other people with other ideas and resources. So within the web of influence of these people, each one of them knows someone who can probably can get you to “X.” And while “X” may not be success, it is one step closer to what your dream is. 

Failure Club's Meg (probably killing it onstage).

The Failure Club is about halfway through it's year-long journey. What sort of changes are you seeing in the participants?

It’s interesting, because you do start to see a shift in confidence. There was incredible fear in the beginning. There’s a real awakening when you realize that the worst thing that anyone is ever going to tell you is 'no.' The minute you get past that, just that first step, everything changes. The fear of picking up the phone. The fear of asking for help. The fear of asking a question. The minute you get past that barrier, worlds change in an instant. People are really starting to see that within their own lives, so now they’re to the point where it comes down to the work. The confidence is boosted, and now it's about the dedication that they have to make it happen. 

For someone who's reading this article or watching Failure Club and thinking, "Wait a tick -- I'm just like these people. Here's this thing that I want to do, but I'm too afraid to try." Why would you recommend they consider joining or starting up their own Failure Club?

I think that there is strength in numbers. That’s what Failure Club really is evident of. You’re so scared by yourself, and you’re so in your head, and you may be surrounded by family members who may not support you. 

The beautiful thing about Failure Clubs is that there are no judgments. And to be in a place where we’re all going to support each other going after these things that we each believe in is fantastic. But again, it still takes personal commitment. And it needs to be a goal that you most likely will fail at. You need to set your expectations so high that you most likely won’t get there. 

Because it’s not about the success, it’s about the journey, right? 

It’s about the journey, and I think it’s about something that’s much more life-affirming.

Jason Bateman and Will Arnett in Mansome

Can you tell me a little bit about Mansome, your upcoming documentary starring America's favorite fictitious dueling sibling duo, Jason Bateman and Will Arnett?

Mansome is a film we did that looks at the magical world of manscaping. It looks at the foibles of manhood through the lens of male grooming -- what we’ve been conditioned into doing now as men, and what we’re being prodded to do through advertising and marketing. It’s fantastically funny.

Will and Jason are so good in the film. The way that they are in real life is exactly how they are in the show [Arrested Development] and in the film. We also spoke with Zach Galifianakis, Judd Apatow, Paul Rudd and Isaiah Mustafa, the Old Spice Guy. We got a good mix. 

OK, since you're a Park Slope resident, and this is a Park Slope blog, I've got to ask you some neighborhood-related questions. Why did you originally move to Park Slope? 

Because I spawned. And when you spawn, you swim across stream. It’s more bang for your buck. I was living in the East Village in a tiny, 6-story walk-up. I remember when my son’s mom got pregnant, she said, “We’re moving to Brooklyn,” and I said, “Yes we are.” It’s such a kid-friendly neighborhood. The first time you move there you’re a little weirded out upon seeing people walk down the street with these 2-across and 3-across baby carriages. When I saw my first 3-across baby carriage, I was like, “We’re not in Kansas anymore.” And I tell girlfriends of mine, “If you move to Park Slope, you might just spontaneously become impregnated. You have to be careful.” 

I've managed to live in Park Slope for six years without getting knocked up, though I could be pregnant right now and just not know it yet!* [Laughs harder than necessary, followed by awkward pause.]

OK, moving on to food. What's your favorite Park Slope restaurant?

I love when they opened the Blue Ribbon that’s around the corner from where I live, though that’s not really a Park Slope restaurant. I love Applewood, and Stone Park Café. 

Cup of coffee?

I go to ‘Snice every Saturday with my little boy We have bagel day and sit outside. I go there and to Café Martin. 

Slice of pizza?

Gosh, I haven’t gotten pizza in Brooklyn for so long. I used to live on 9^th Street, so I’d always go to Smiling Pizza. It’s got to be the most profitable pizza place because it’s right off the train. My son’s vegan, and there’s a pizza place on 7^th ave [Pizza Plus], and you can get vegan cheese pizza, and they deliver. Every Friday is movie night and we order pizza. 

Who would you like to see play at the Barclay Center?

I want to be there opening weekend to see Jay-Z.

I think Barbra Streisand is playing too.

I heard The Babs is coming. I’m not nearly as excited for that.

Do you think Park Slope parents get a bum rap?

Yes, and some of them much deservedly so.  I heard when parents were complaining about the ice cream trucks [in Prospect Park]. God forbid you have to tell your child ‘No’ and actually be a parent. It’s like, come on, really? This is what you’re going to complain about? You know what you do? You say, “No, you can’t have that. Now lets go home."

I have to ask you this one: If you were to make a documentary about about Park Slope, what aspect of the neighborhood would you focus on?

Wow, that’s a great question. My little boy is five, and he’s in Kindergarten right now. The education system in general is a great story, but if you’re focusing in on Park Slope, I'd go with how you can live right across from a school, but that’s not your school district. The whole gerrymandering of school districts in Park Slope is fascinating. And who gets included into what school system, and where you have to go. There’s something really great there.

Catch new episodes of Failure Club air on Yahoo Screen every Monday and Friday at 1PM EST. Mansome hits theaters on Friday, May 18th.

* I'm not pregnant. I was just really nervous, which always leads to bad jokes and under-boob sweat.